I'm a pre-beginner at weaving. Yesterday I went to buy a used table loom and came home with three (for the price of the one I went to buy). They all seem to be well cared for in nice condition and I'm going to clean them up one at a time. I'm starting with the Varpapuu (there's also a Glimåkra and a Bohusvävstol), and I plan to learn to weave on that one. The reed is rusty. Is it worth the effort to try to remove the rust by hand or is it better to buy a new reed. If I do buy a new one, does anyone have a suggestion about would be good density of the teeth (is that the right way to say it) in terms of versatility. Thanks.

Comments

Mon, 03/12/2012 - 19:52

SallyE (not verified)

I went through the process to "fix" a rusty reed a couple of months ago.  Get a bottle of navel jelly (it's a rust remover - smells terrible) and some heavy plastic.   Put the reed on the plastic and put pieces of wood or paper tubes around the reed UNDER the plastic.   That makes a little dam for the navel jelly.    Just pour it on - the whole bottle.   Let sit for several hours or a day and use a metal brush to loosen the rust at the end of the process.   (The jelly can be re-used - just use the plastic as a funnel and put it back into the bottle.)

Rinse well and put into your oven at about 250 to dry well.   The paper on the top and bottom edges will come off, but the string should be fine.   When totally dry, brush well with a metal brush - like a grill brush (a clean one).  Optional - put on a very thin mist of spray-on metal laquer and brush it out well between all the dents.   This will prevent future rust.

You can replace the paper with duct tape or the like.

As for the reed size to buy, a 12 dent is the most versatile.

 

Sat, 08/04/2012 - 15:58

robbiekw

I was hoping I could try to salvage a reed on an old loom I just got. Now I can at least try this. why didn't I think of naval jelly? Thanks again!

Wed, 08/08/2012 - 17:50

Vilma Belen-Pe…

How much should you pay for a 60" Varpapuu floor loom?

Fri, 11/02/2012 - 18:40

Gwennie

Thanks for the advice on how to clean a reed.  I just bought a 40" Loomcraft.  It's a beauty and in great condition except for two things.  There are four reeds and a couple are rusty.  I know now how to fix that thanks to these instructions but now I have to replace all the tie ups.  The snitch cords are dried and broken.  I have some texsolv and plan to use that but what is the best way to make connections?  Knots? metal hooks? texsolv connectors?(the little squares or the arrows?  Using a bbq scraper for the reed is genius and the rust resistant paint will be a life saver in the future.  I can't "bake" my reed because my oven isn't big enough but I can blow dry it.  Thanks again!

Sat, 11/03/2012 - 00:36

SallyE (not verified)

Right, a lot of reeds won't fit into your oven.   I keep forgetting this because, truth be told, I use a 12 cubic foot kiln instead of an oven and the reeds easily fit into that.   Blowing it dry will work OK, but the strings might still be wet, so you really have to dry those out or you will get rust where the strings touch the reed. 

If you have a heat gun, like the kind used to melt paint, that will work also, but you have to be careful not to burn the strings.